


Down Dog

by EchoGhost



Series: DP Side Hoes Week 2021 [7]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Bullying, Cujo gets shot, Gen, Valerie's POV, puppy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-22 19:54:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30043893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EchoGhost/pseuds/EchoGhost
Summary: The Red Huntress finally gets her revenge on the ghost dog that ruined her life, she thought it would fix everything. And maybe it would have. If Danny Fenton hadn’t seen it.
Series: DP Side Hoes Week 2021 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2199684
Comments: 7
Kudos: 79





	1. Puppy

Finally, after over a year, it was here. She was about to get the thing she had wanted for so long.

She took a breath and steadied herself before she lined up her shot. Her target was staying relatively still and hadn’t noticed her yet. Her finger rested on the trigger and without a second thought, she fired.

The recoil hit her shoulder harder than she had been expecting but her aim was true.

The monster howled in pain and hit the pavement hard. The splatter of ectoplasm covering the street in its neon carnage.

She hopped off her hoverboard and walked closer to her downed pray, ready to finish the job if necessary.

She stopped dead when she realized she wasn’t the only one on the street.

Standing only a few feet away, close enough for droplets of green to speckle across his dirty red shoes.

He looked absolutely horrified.

But that made sense, everybody knew that Danny Fenton was terrified of ghosts.

She holstered her gun and made her way over avoiding the mess she’d have to clean up. “It’s okay. I got it.”

She expected him to relax, maybe even thank her for saving him. She hadn’t been expecting him to question her.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did you shoot him?” His voice trembled as he refused to look away from the ghost, “He wasn’t hurting anyone.”

“That ghost was a menace.” Didn’t he understand that?

“He’s just a puppy.” his voice cracked on the word puppy, and that’s when she saw how watery his eyes were.

Did he seriously like dogs more than he disliked ghosts?

He closed the distance between himself and the ghost dog and fell to his knees almost like he was in a trance.

Before she could even think to stop him he reached out to touch it.

He immediately recoiled with a hiss as the raw ectoplasm touched his bare hand.

She moved to help him, but he leaned away from her. “Look I’m sorry you had to see this but at least let me give you a wipe to clean your hand.”

He glared at her but the tears running down his face dulled the effect and made him look more like a kicked puppy. Ironically.

She sighed, “If you leave it on there too long you’re going to get nerve damage.”

In an act of what was supposed to be defiance, he slammed his hand onto the street to use the pavement instead. Unfortunately for him, he ended up just dunking his hand into a puddle of ectoplasm instead.

His scream was so loud she was worried he was going to wake up the neighborhood if not the whole town. It also felt like her armor vibrated, but that must have been in her head.

She pulled him back and decided to take his hand whether he liked it or not. Luckily, she could get the wipes out and work one-handed because he kept squirming. “Would you stay still? I’m trying to help you.”

“You’ve done enough!” he yanked free just as she finished.

“Why were you even out here anyway? It’s almost four in the morning.”

“I could ask you the same thing.” he retorted holding his wrist as he flexed his hand.

“Really?”

“Whatever.” he pouted and made a point of looking away from her.

“You going to tell me?”

“You’re smart, figure it out!” he yelled back before turning around and heading home.

She sucked the faded remains of the former ghost dog and caught up to him.

“Why are you following me.”

“To make sure you get home safe.”

He huffed in annoyance but didn’t protest further.

After a few blocks, he broke the silence with a question, “Are there any other ghosts in there?” he nodded to the thermos in her hand.

“No." They had just reached his front steps.

“Can I have it? I can trade you for one of ours."

"Why?”

"Because I wanted to, umm," he hesitated and looked at his shoes instead of answering.

Valerie was sure he couldn't see her face with her visor on, but she couldn't help but raise her eyebrow in confusion. She looked at the thermos in her hand then back to Danny.

She sighed and against her better judgment she handed it over.

"Thanks." He held the thermos carefully, "I wanted to give him a proper burial. I doubt he got one the last time."

Why did he care so much about some mangy ghost? Was he just that kind-hearted or was she missing something?


	2. Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valerie keeps an eye on Danny while she struggles with the consequences of her actions.

Valerie looked up from her lunch towards Danny. She had been checking up on him like this all day.

Only ever briefly. Always from a distance.

She wanted to talk to him. To make sure he would be okay.  _ Would  _ be.

Because he wasn't.

And she knew why. She knew exactly what was wrong.

But she wasn't supposed to know. Valerie Gray, a fellow student at Casper High, wasn't supposed to know what happened last night.

Only the Red Huntress knew.

It was agonizing to see him like this. To know what was wrong, but not be able to talk to him about it. Not be able to apologize.

And God did it feel so weird to want to apologize for what happened. For what she did.

She didn't know how to talk to him about this and keep her secret intact.

So she didn't talk to him.

She only watched.

And wondered.

She wondered if she would have still pulled the trigger if she had seen him there.

Probably.

More importantly, she wondered why he was there at all. What the heck was Danny "nearly scared of his own shadow" Fenton doing out in the middle of the street at 3 am?

He couldn't have been ghost hunting. He didn't have any equipment with him and she was pretty sure he went out of his way to never even look at an ecto-gun, let alone use one. Was he a pacifist or was he just that scared of ghosts?

But if he wasn't out hunting, what was he doing?

Staring at him didn't seem to be getting her any closer to the answers she sought.

The bell rang and she hurriedly repacked her leftovers back into her lunch bag.

She didn't miss when Danny threw his entire lunch in the trash. He hadn't eaten a thing.

It wasn't until she was on her way to her next class that she got her answer.

It certainly wasn't what she had been expecting.

Dash had cornered Danny near the bathroom, in one of the school's many security camera blind spots.

"I'm really not in the mood today, Dash. How about a rain check?"

"You really think I care about  _ your  _ mood?" Dash scoffed.

The look on Danny's face was a perfect example of just being so done. "Right, of course. Silly me." He said in a monotone of defeat.

Dash shoved Danny's shoulder hard enough to knock him back half a step.

She stood a few feet away, just out of view. She couldn't get too close without blowing her cover.

Valerie wanted to step in, to help him in any way she could but she knew that would only make things worse. Dash would never let him live down being rescued by a girl. Well,  _ another  _ girl anyway. Sam had done it first. Which would only compound the ridicule.

Valerie wanted to step in, but Danny was a lot quicker than she thought. Both physically and mentally. He used the momentum of being pushed to pivot away before making a mad dash forward under the arm of his bully. It was super impressive that he was able to strategize on the fly like that.

Unfortunately, it wasn't quick enough. Dash snatched him by the hood of his oversized NASA hoodie. The audible gag from Danny made her wince in sympathy pain.

"You're not getting away from me that-," Dash stopped short when something on the floor caught his eye, "What do we have here?"

Dash kept his grip on Danny while one of the other football goons snatched up the object and tossed it to him.

It was a black spiked collar with a small circular dog tag.

"Give it back!" Danny shouted as he struggled to get loose while also not strangling himself in the process.

"Oh kinky," Dash snickered as he looked it over. "I knew you were a freak but I didn't know you were that kind of a freak."

Danny stopped struggling as Dash's comments finally clicked. He was instantly repulsed, "Ew no! That was my dog's!"

"Nice try Fenton. I know you don't have a dog."

Danny's shoulders slumped as he cast a dejected look towards the floor, "I did."

Dash either ignored or completely missed what Danny had just admitted.

But Valerie didn't. She was listening. She just couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Because that collar suddenly looked familiar. Very familiar.

That wasn't just any dog collar. That was the ghost dog's collar. The ghost dog that she had destroyed last night.

But he said it belonged to his dog.

_ His _ dog?

Was that why he was out last night? He was just walking his dog when she-

No.

Danny was afraid of ghosts.

Wasn't he?

Or was that the one ghost that didn't scare him?

Was Jazz helping him overcome his fears with exposure therapy? Or maybe it was more like an emotional support dog?

Did his parents know about it?

She had so many questions.

Dash on the other hand was busy ruining everything.

"You want it back so bad, bark for it!"

"What?!"

"You heard me!"

Danny glared at Dash before trying to lunge for the collar. He didn't get very far and Dash easily pinned Danny against the wall.

"Do it or I'll flush it down the toilet!"

Danny was quiet for a moment, maybe he was praying for a higher power to get him out of this humiliating situation, or perhaps he was just mentally setting fire to the last tiny bit of dignity he had left.

Danny locked eyes with Dash, "woof."

"Not like that! Like a real dog."

Danny didn't break eye contact but Valerie noticed that his hands had curled into fists tight enough for his oversized sleeves to swallow his hands completely.

She didn't understand how Danny wasn't just fighting back. A quick punch to the gut would instantly make Dash crumble like a soda can and he’d be able to snatch the collar and make a run for it.

Then again, maybe he was just playing it smart since he was outnumbered.

With no other options, Danny did what he was told.

Dash’s obnoxious laughter filled the narrow hallway. “Do it again!”

He did.

Valerie couldn’t stand it anymore. This was worse than those glances she’d get while she was at work. This was like the stories her Daddy told her about how his parents had been treated, how  _ he  _ had been treated growing up.

“Dash cut it out! He did what you asked.”

Everyone turned to face her but before anyone could do anything else, Danny spoke first. It came out in a rush, full of panic and desperation. “I’ll wear it!”

The attention was back on Danny. He clearly hated it. Both the attention and the terrible situation he had backed himself into.

“You can’t get in trouble if it’s my idea.”

She wanted to help him. To just grab his hand and run away, but the look he gave her stopped her cold. That look was a warning. She heard it loud and clear.

Dash made Danny turn around and face the wall, as if this wasn’t humiliating enough. Dash locked the collar in place and pet Danny’s cheek when he turned around before leaning in and whispering something in his ear.

Valerie wasn’t close enough to hear it, but whatever it was Danny didn’t like it at all.

Dash just laughed, “What? Did I finally say something to piss you off?” he leaned down to be eye level with Danny who was shaking with rage, “Or are you just mad because it’s true?”

He finally reacted.

But not in the way any of them were expecting.

Dash pushed Danny back hard enough to knock him to the floor, "Did you just  _ bite  _ me?"

Danny didn't answer. Not with words anyway.

His breathing was ragged and he was heaving hard enough to move his shoulders. He got up slowly and even with his back to her, she knew something was very wrong.

Her watch beeped. A ghost was nearby.

Of course it was. She was staring right at it.


	3. Victim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Val tries to do damage control after Danny gets possessed.

Dash, despite all his posturing and peacocking, was a coward. The instant he knew he was in danger, the jock ran.

Luckily for the other boy, Valerie had quick reflexes and snatched Danny's hood to give him time to escape as well.

Danny’s head turned back toward her, but it wasn’t Danny who was glaring at her. The normal baby blue hue she was used to had been replaced with a menacing blood red.

Her ecto-gun appeared in her hand with barely a thought. She placed the barrel to his forehead, "Get out of my friend  _ now _ . This is your only warning."

Not-Danny's demeanor shifted. The inhumanly low rumbling growl cut off abruptly.

Surprisingly the escape from her grip was to wiggle out of Danny's hoodie. It didn't use intangibility, it just wormed itself out of the top and ran into the nearby bathroom.

Valerie was so blindsided by the non-ghostly reaction she just stood in the hall for a moment.

She shook off the shock and followed, folding the hoodie over her arm as she went.

Not-Danny was crouched on the floor in the corner under the sink. He looked just like a frightened child.

But she knew better. This was just a ghost hijacking an innocent.

Or should she just assume that it was the ghost dog? It didn't start until the collar was on and he currently was whimpering like a dog.

The squeak of fast approaching rubber soles against tile distracted her. She cursed and turned back to see Not-Danny scramble into the open stall across from him.

Before she could move in to keep an eye on him, whoever was running in the halls finally ran into the bathroom. More accurately ran  _ into _ the bathroom's door frame.

"Where is he?"

Valerie turned to see Tucker out of breath and leaning against the wall.

"Danny." He clarified. "Dash said 'Fenton went feral'." He took a deep breath and stood up fully, "So have you seen him or not?"

She pointed toward the stall.

Tucker instantly relaxed then walked past her towards the stall in question.

"What are you doing?!" She whispered yelled through her teeth.

"He's my best friend and he needs me."

"Are you not at all worried that he'll attack you too?"

Tucker had the gall to actually laugh at that, "Danny could never hurt me."

The way he said it made her pause. That wasn't just arrogance, or youthful stupidity masquerading as invulnerability. He truly believed in what he was saying.

Almost like he knew from experience.

Tucker approached the stall and Valerie nearly had a heart attack when Not-Danny leaped out of the stall right at Tucker.

Except he wasn't attacking.

Sure he was breathing way too fast, but it was clearly from fear. It was keeping its head buried in the crook of Tucker's neck, eyes squeezed shut.

It was afraid of her.

Normally she'd be happy about that. She hated how easy it was for her to question everything just because of him. It was this exact situation she was trying to avoid by not dating him.

She took a breath to recenter herself. She needed to focus if she wanted to save Danny.

Now that she was paying attention again she noticed how odd the scene before her was. Not just because Tucker was comforting a possessed person, but because he was holding him in his arms. Surprisingly easily.

"Does he do that often?"

Tucker turned to her and seemed surprised that she was still there. She rolled her eyes, as if she could just leave him like that.

"Jump into your arms. You aren't struggling to hold him and didn't seem all that surprised."

"Oh, that." Tucker smiled, "yeah Danny does this all the time." His smile faltered, "the jumping in for a hug, not the nuzzling and whimpering. That's new."

"Probably because that's not Danny."

"What makes you so sure?" Tucker accused more than asked.

"He bit Dash, growled at me, then ran into the bathroom on all fours."

"Ah, well I guess there's that." Tucker to a beat to compose himself before he asked his next question, "Did you see what happened?"

Valerie bit her lip to buy time. How much could she say without revealing herself? It would just look like she had been stalking him.

But she couldn't say  _ nothing _ . That wouldn't help him.

She could do this, she could tell just enough to help without showing her hand. This was better than lying. Easier.

Right?

"I saw they had cornered him and I tried to help, but it didn't work. They peer pressured him into wearing the collar. Then he…" how should she put this, "he was different."

Yeah, that was good. Perfect even.

"Collar?" Tucker couldn't see it from his current position so he felt for it instead. Recognition flashed across his features.

Then he said two little words that she never would have expected.

"Cujo sit."

And he did.

Not-Danny leaped right out of Tucker's arms and sat crossed-legged on the floor. He happily looked up at Tucker eagerly awaiting approval.

Tucker reciprocated with a gentle pat on the head and a "good boy."

"What are you doing?"

"Positive reinforcement. Danny says it's important for Cujo's development." He replied automatically.

"Of course," Valerie sighed, "I can't believe he named it after a Stephen King book."

"That's a Stephen King reference?!"

"Y-yeah?" Did he really not know that?

"Man, I knew it was a reference to something. But when I asked Sam she just said 'it's a popular pet name in Maine', like I'm supposed to know what that means."

"That's where he lives."

"What?"

"Stephen King writes horror novels and lives in Maine. Everybody knows that, it's common knowledge."

"Bold of you to assume I have access to common knowledge."

Valerie could barely keep her composure, "You want to try that again?" She asked between giggles.

"No." Tucker dejectedly joined Cujo on the floor, "Danny always makes it look so easy."

Valerie just smiled. She always knew Danny was the smart one of the trio. Even if they always deferred to Sam for advice. She wasn't smarter, she just said things with more confidence.

She decided to keep her thoughts to herself for now, "Speaking of Danny, maybe we should focus on helping him?"

"What's all this ‘we’ stuff?"

"You seriously think I'm going to leave him like this?"

Tucker just sighed and turned back to Cujo, "most people would."

"Well, I'm not most people."

He shook his head with a smile, "Ain't that the truth."

"So now what?"

Tucker pondered for a moment, "Maybe we can just ask him to leave?"

"Or you could just take it off?"

Tucker's attention flicked from her to the collar. "Right."

She rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall knowing this was doomed to fail.

"Hey buddy, can you stay still for me?"

Cujo perked up at the word 'stay'.

"That's right.  _ Stay _ ." Tucker emphasized as he slowly reached forward.

Of course, the second he touched the collar Cujo scurried back until he bumped into the stall divider.

"Aw come on! You know you can't stay in there." Tucker complained as he tried to reach for the collar again.

Cujo just whined as he leaned away.

Why wasn't he just phasing through the wall?

"Come on Cujo, work with me here."

Cujo shook his head in refusal, "Stay!" He barked.

"What?" Tucker asked in disbelief.

"Cujo stay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What better way to celebrate St. Patrick's day than to write more of a fic focusing on everyone's favorite ghost dog-o!

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter was originally written in December during my self-imposed [12 Days of Fic-mas challenge](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28030287/chapters/69076110) while chapter two was written for the last day DP Side Hoes Week!


End file.
